


corn nuts and forever (or not)

by heatherchandler (red_handedjill)



Category: Heathers: The Musical - Murphy & O'Keefe
Genre: Bisexuality, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, F/F, F/M, Heteronormativity, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-14
Updated: 2015-10-14
Packaged: 2018-04-26 08:40:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4998154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_handedjill/pseuds/heatherchandler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Veronica Sawyer has never understood why the fuck her soulmate's last words to her would be "Corn Nuts." — chansaw, jdonica</p>
            </blockquote>





	corn nuts and forever (or not)

She’s five years old when her mother explains that the words marked on her body are the last words she will ever hear her soulmate say.

“Corn Nuts,” her mother laughs, “I wonder why he would say that last.”

Veronica giggles and kisses her mother’s cheek. She thinks nothing of it.

* * *

She’s eight years old the first time someone ever laughs about it. His name is Ram Sweeney and she writes that he is every bad word she knows in her diary. She can’t say that she doesn’t agree that it’s strange though.

“Corn Nuts … Why Corn Nuts?” She whispers to the birth mark.

It doesn’t have an answer.

Who even talk about Corn Nuts anyways though?

It’s a good question, actually. She’s twelve the first time that she ever really hears someone talking about Corn Nuts. The girl is blonde and clad in red and a  _girl_ so Veronica is sure she isn’t her soulmate but still. Veronica eavesdrops on her as long as she can, stalling at her locker.

“Heather.”

“Yeah, Heather?”

“No, not you, pillowcase. I’m talking to Heather.”

“Oh, what do you need, Heather?”

“Since we’re going to that party tonight, you’re in charge of buying me Corn Nuts. And, I swear to fucking God, Heather, if you buy me plain Corn Nuts, I won’t talk to you for a week.” She’s angry and bitchy and Veronica  _knows_ now she couldn’t possibly be her soulmate. (As if there was a chance before.)

* * *

The first time Veronica ever really talks to Heather, the one who wanted the Corn Nuts, she’s seventeen. She sounds like a fucking moron but at this point she knows she’s supposed to be terrified of the Heathers and she kind of is.

“Veronica … Sawyer. I crave a boon,” she says, awkwardly retracting her hand.

“What boon?” Heather snaps. Fuck, fuck, fuck, she’s scared now if she wasn’t before. Something kind of goes out inside her and suddenly she’s on autopilot. Until Heather Chandler is touching her and talking about how she could be beautiful.

She thinks her heart stops and she isn’t sure why.

* * *

It turns out hanging out with the Heathers isn’t always terrifying. Sure, she’s yelled at a lot (Heather needs a drink, Heather needs help with her math homework, Heather wants Corn Nuts—always with the fucking Corn Nuts that she won’t let them know about) but there are  _moments._  Sometimes Heather is kind and Heather isn’t always judging her about things _she’s_  insecure about and Heather is actually very nice when Heather and Heather aren’t influencing her.

It’s not until Heather Chandler begins wanting to hang out with her and only her that it stops being so unnerving to be friends with them. Well, she’s still terrified about it and kind of thinks they’re going to make her change her name to Heather but it turns out the blonde is almost …. Comforting to be around.

And then Heather McNamara wants to hang out with just her too. Even Heather Duke decides they could go to the library together eventually.

(She isn’t sure why but she isn’t quite as excited when it comes to the other two.)

* * *

There’s something exciting about the thought of her first party. 

(Or maybe just the thought of Heather driving her somewhere and them dancing together and  _it’s almost a date_  now that she thinks about it but that would be _ridiculous._ )

“We’re getting Corn Nuts first.” 

It’s the first time someone has mentioned Corn Nuts at all to her in awhile and she almost chokes on her own saliva.

“Christ on a stick, Veronica, I just said Corn Nuts. Relax,” Heather tells her with an eye roll.

Veronica almost asks Heather what her birth mark says but then the car is parked and oh, well, it’s not like they're soulmates anyways. She lets herself think that maybe the boy in the 7-11 who makes her a giggly mess could be her soulmate instead.

(She doesn’t even notice the jealousy in Heather’s eyes.)

* * *

Everything goes to shit so fast she’s not even sure what’s happened. She can remember Heather, beautiful Heather, seething and screaming at her. She can remember puking. She can remember sex and the smell of JD’s cologne (or is that just the Slurpies?).

All that matters is that she’s at Heather Chandler’s house and she wants nothing more than forgiveness.

(Fuck it, it’s not even about her reputation anymore.)

Heather screams louder than she normally would. She wants a hangover cure. It’s not unreasonable but JD still says something about  _killing_ her and Veronica is _not okay_ with that.

(Maybe she’s too uneasy. Isn’t he the boy who’s going to say Corn Nuts before she loses him?)

His lips are fire when she touches them but she tells herself she isn’t burnt and grabs the mug for Heather. Shit.  _Heather._  She shouldn’t have brought JD. What about this seemed like a good idea? Heather hates him.

Her mind won’t shut up about Heather the whole way up to her bedroom.

Veronica almost lets herself smile when she sees the familiar photos and the fresh ones of them and just them on the vanity mirror. Heather is a bitch again before she can so she bites it back. She swears it doesn’t hurt to do.

It’s a lie. The entire conversation hurts. Heather in that fucking robe is killing her with her hair messy in the perfect way and her fucking legs (Veronica thinks maybe she can see the slightest bit of Heather’s birth mark on them). Every word that comes out of Heather’s mouth aches its way into her brain. She thinks maybe this is God’s way of lighting her on fucking fire.

And then Heather commands her to get down her knees and beg.

“Oh—I’m—I’m  _really_ sorry …” But Heather isn’t kidding.

She hisses before yanking the mug, “you’re still dead to me” and Veronica hasn’t felt so shitty since Ram laughed about her birth mark. That’s when the worst fucking thing happens.

Veronica has no idea what it as first.  _Did it taste that bad?_  crosses through her mind before she  _knows_.

Heather Chandler is dying.

JD.  _JD._ He’s killing her right before Veronica’s eyes.

Heather falls and Veronica catches her. There’s a moment, a burning, lit on fire moment, where Heather just stares into her eyes and Veronica swears to fucking God all she can see is everything that girl has ever feared or known or cried in secret of. And then Heather says the worst possible thing she can.

“Corn … Nuts.”

It sort of hits Veronica just what Heather said after it’s much too late to react and let her  _know_  they were soulmates. She feels it punch her dead between her ribs when Heather is collapsed on the floor, her hand—cold and dead and manicured—just stuck, gripping Veronica’s thigh like it was the last thing that could save her. Like Heather knew.

Her eyes rake over Heather’s corpse after she pries the hand off of her. There it is, on Heather’s inner thigh.

The birth mark is exactly the last thing she ever said to Heather Chandler.


End file.
